Supreme Court affirms Richfield man’s murder conviction

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction of a Richfield man who got life without parole in the strangulation death of his ex-girlfriend in 2013.

The high court Tuesday rejected arguments that Daniel Bartelt wasn’t properly advised of his rights to remain silent and have a lawyer when detectives questioned him about a nonfatal attack that happened before his ex-girlfriend, Jessie Blodgett, was found dead in her Hartford apartment.

The majority found Bartelt wasn’t in custody before he confessed to the nonfatal attack. He was arrested and advised of his rights after he confessed. He was arrested in Blodgett’s death the next day.

In a scathing dissent, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley said the majority was engaging in “fantasy.” She said a reasonable person in Bartelt’s position wouldn’t have felt free to leave.